For some time, a number of years ago, I felt burdened by cynicism and gloom. In those days I would watch small children at play and wonder how the freedom and joy I had felt so naturally in childhood could evaporate so completely. I remember longing for God to remove this oppressive feeling and restore my happiness, but my prayers for healing seemed ineffectual. Joy seemed a fading memory.
One evening my long-sought-after answer came with the crystalline clarity and simplicity only divine inspiration can impart. I have not forgotten that moment and how the inspiration has been, and continues to be, an irresistible healing influence in my life.
With so many problems of my own to think about, I usually did not care to read about the world's problems. That evening, however, I was impelled to begin praying each day for the world, using events covered by The Christian Science Monitor as the focus of my prayers.
